Ore-reducing furnace



(No Model.)

2 SheetsSheet l. G A. LAWRENCE 81; B. J. FROST.

ORB REDUCING FURNACE;

No. 287,945. Patented Nov. 6,1883.

INVENTOE S.

ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet G. A.'LAWRENOE 8v J. FROST.

ORE REDUCING FURNACE INVENTOR 5, ivuwhiu glmmmmf i dmmx imk ATTORNEYWITNESSES zzwfi/ filn rrcln STATES PATENT omen cno'ndnA;La;wR-Enc1i,;ori .nEWaYoRmnfY, AND EDWARD J'. rnosr, or l 1."PHILADELPHIA; PENNSYLVANIA;

:ORE-REDUQING FURNACE.

srnorrrcn'rron forming part of LettersQPatent No. 287,945, dated,November 6, 1883,

' Application fllcd December 27, 1881. (No model.)

a citizen of the United States, residingat New York, in the county andState ofNew :York,

and EDWARD J FROST, a citizen of theUnited Etates, residing atPhiladelphia, in the county v of Philadelphia and State :ofPennsylvania, H haveinvented certain new and, useful Im provements inOre-Reducing Furnaces; and 'we doli'ereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, which will enableothers skilled in the-art to whichthe invention appertains to make anduse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

.Our invention relates to a furnace for the reduction of pulverizedores, its objects being to produce an intense heat in a combustion andreducing chamber bymeans of a blast of pulverized fuel, and to cause theheat so produced tojnot only act upon pulverized ore introduced in acloud into the chamber, but also to heat a'decomposer arranged inside ofsaid chamber, for the production ofgas fi'om suitable materialsintroduced therein, which gas is. dischargedwithin' the chamber, andaddsby its combustion to the intensity of the heat for the reduction ofthe ore. j T, The invention consists in a novel combination'oif devicesfor accomplishing the objects referred to, :as will be hereinaftenfullydescribed, and pointed out in the appendedclaims. In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure l is a view, partially in vertical section,illustrating our improved furnace and its attachments. Fig. 2 isahorizontal section on line mm of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail View,mainly in section, of the coil and injector. Fig. 4 is a sectionalviewof a portion of the blast-pipe, showing the check-valvetherein. Fig. 5is a V I section of the blast-pipe in the plane-indicated 'byfline y 11ofFig. 4:.

Referring tollig. 1, the letter D designates a combustion and reducingchamber inclosed by walls a of any suitable refractory material,

' and d is a flue leading from the upper portion is supported adjacentto the combustion and able means. The letter B indicates a blast-pipeleadingfrom a blower, A, and having two branches,

reducing chamber by masonry or other suitb b, which enter the lowerportion of the chain berD at opposite sides 1 and terminate in upturnedportions E, somewhat inclined toward each other near the center of saidcupola.

, A hopper, G, is connected with the blastpipe B by means of ashortpipe, c, and suitably mounted at the center of the hopper and ofpipe 0 is avertical shaft, 0, the lower portion of which carries afeed-screw, c, and the upper portion of which is provided with radialarms 0. The hopper is for supplying the blast-pipe with pulverizedcoal,which is properly agitated by the arms 0*, to preventpacking, andis fed forward by the screw 0. The shaft 0' receives rotary motion from.a suitably-geared shaft, and its speed may be regulated in the ordinarymanner by an arrangement of cone-pulleys, R R, and a belt connecting thesame. I

Between the hopper andthe branch pipes 22 b the blast-pipe is providedwith a pivoted check-valve, Q, which normally rests upon an inclinedseat, q, and has one of its pivots projecting outside the pipe, andprovided with an inclined arm, upon which is arranged an adjustableweight, Q.

In the lower portion of the chamber D is arranged a. vertical pipe-coil,F, the upper turns of which are perforated, as shown at f,

G, arranged in the flue under the-boiler and connected with thesteam-space of said boiler. The injector is provided with an air-inletpipe, J, and may be also connected by a dip- .pipe, as shown at K, witha tank, L, to hold Through the roof of the chamber D is ar-. ranged avertical hollow shaft, M, suitably disk, 0, with the interior of whichthe bore of the shaft M is in free communication. Upon the upper end ofthe shaft is mounted a hopper, P, and below the hopper the shaft isprovided with a belt-pulley, N, which may r'e.

ceive motion from a belt, N. A

The operation of the apparatus as now eX- plained is as follows: Theboiler being first.

properly supplied with water, thehopper O is filled withproperly-pulverized coal, and the blower and shaft put in motion, thevalve of the blower being opened. The check-valve Q is opened by theblast, and two jets of the pulverized coal mixed with air are forcedinto the chamber D inside of the coal. These jets are then ignitedthrough a door, (not shown in the drawings,) and a flame fills orpartially fills the cupola, according to the quantity of fuel supplied,the feed being regulated by the adjustment of one of the cone-pulleys R.The heat passing from the cupola through flue d raises-steam in theboiler and superheats said steam as it passes through the return-pipe Gto pipe G and the injector. If only'superheated steam and air are to beused, the valve in pipe K is closed and that in pipe J opened, and thena mixture of superheated steam and air will be forced through theinjector, and the steam will. be converted into hydrogen and oxygengasesa-s it traverses the coil F. The hydrogen gas, escaping through theperforations f, becomes ignited, and adds greatly to the intensity ofthe heat produced by the combustion of the coal-dust. When a properdergreeof heat is reached within the chamber D, the shaft M is startedinto rapid rotation, and into the hopper P is. fed the pulverized ore,which passes through the hollow shaft M, and is discharged in a cloud bythe rapidly-rotating hollow perforated disk 0. To facilitate theproduction of gas, especially in the early stage of the operation, thecock in the pipeK may be opened, when the blast of superheated steamwill draw up oil through the pipe K and force it through the injector inthe form of vapor. The metallic portion of the ore is melted out andfalls upon the hearth of the chamber, from which it may be collected inany suitable manner, while the most of the silicious and earthy portionsof the ore are carried off by the blast through. the flue d. Thecheck-valve Q, being properly balanced, will close, should theback-pressure of the blast-pipe be sufficient to counteract the blast,so that the coal-dust in the hopper 0 will not be ignited. x

We have not shown any mechanical connection between the. shaft M,cone-pulleys, and blower, as it will be readily understood that they mayhave motion communicated to them by any .of the ordinary suitable means.

We are aware that a furnace has been pro-. vided heretofore with meansof introducing a blast of pulverized fuel thereto, and also thatpulverized ore has been introduced in a cloud intoac'ombustion andreducing chamber. We

are also aware that acoil for converting suit able materials into gashas been located in a furnace, and that a coil has been arranged aroundthe outside of afurnace-chamber, and

providedwith openings to the interior of the chamber,for the purpose ofdis'chargingtherein a gas producedbya generator independent of thefurnace. We are further aware that superheated steam and ahydrocarbongas have been introduced together into an ore-reducing furnace, and thatsuch furnace has been provided with an outside superheater, fromwhichsuperheated steam may be discharged among crushed ore passing through apassage to the furnace. -We do not claim any of these inventions. v.Having now described our invention and explained the operationthereof,we claim? 1. In an apparatus for reducing ores, the combination,with acombustion and reducing chamber, means for introducing ablast ofpulverized fuel thereto, and separate means for introducing pulverizedore thereto, of a de: composer arrangedwithin said chamber and havingopenings to the interior thereof, and means for supplying to saiddecomposer ma: terials which will be converted into combusti, ble gasbythe action of heat thereon,thewhole arranged and adapted to operatesubstantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for reducing ores, the combination, with thecombustion and reducing chamber, of the blast-pipe and connected blowerand feed-hopper for supplying p'ulverized fuel to. the blast-pipe, theperforated coil F, arranged within the chamber, means for forcing into.said coil a supply of material to be converted into gas therein, andmeans forcombination, with the combustion and reducing chamber,fuel-blast devices, and the decomposer arranged within said chamber andprovided with openings to the interior thereof, of the boiler arrangedto receive heat from said chamber, and connected with said decoms poserby a suitable steam-pipe, and means for introducing ore into saidchamber, substan-. tially as described. I 4, In an apparatus forreducing ores, the combination, with the combustion-chamber providedwith means for introducing ore and producing heat therein, theperforated pipecoil arranged in said chamber, and the. boiler connectedwith said pipe-coil byasteam-pipe;

of an injector arranged'in said stew-pipe to.

discharge into said coil, and one or more ad ditional pipes connectedwith said injectorforsupp yi g a d 0r flu s t a mraay the steam,substantially as described. 5. In an apparatus for reducing ores, the,combination, with the combustion-chamber,

means for introducing ore and pulverized fuel In testimony whereof weaflix our signatures therein, the perforated pipe-coil within said inthe presence of two witnesses.

chamber, and the boiler connected with said GEORGE A. LAYVRENCE.pipe-coil by a steam-pipe, of an injector ar EDWARD J. FROST.

5 ranged in said steam pipe, and an oil-tank W'itn esses:

conneotedwit-hsaid injector by a-suitable pipe, G. M. SLOOUM,

substantially as and for the purpose set forth. JNo. TAYLOR.

